How could this happen? It’s a question being asked by many in the wake of this weekend’s catastrophic train derailment in Lac-Mégantic...

FRIDAY, July 5

11:25 p.m.: An engineer from the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA) parks a train carrying 72 tankers, each carrying thousands of litres of crude oil (roughly 100,000 litres), and five locomotives in Nantes, approximately 11 kilometres outside of Lac-Mégantic. According to the MMA, he had stopped for a crew change and then retired to a nearby motel for the night.

11:30 p.m.: A resident in Nantes calls 911 after seeing a parked locomotive on fire between Nantes and Lac-Mégantic. Firefighters arrive on the scene and are able to extinguish the blaze.

12:13 to 12:15 a.m.: Two MMA employees arrive on the scene. Firefighters leave soon after establishing that the situation is under control.

1:15 a.m.: The first explosion in Lac-Mégantic is reported, followed by at least two others. Initial reports suggest 30 buildings are destroyed. Much of downtown is flooded with crude oil and fire. Patrons of a crowded bar flee. Many remain unaccounted for.

1:15 a.m. to 4 a.m.: Explosions continue to rock the town as tanker cars containing oil ignite. Firefighters and volunteers are alerted and begin assessing the scene. They receive backup from Montreal and surrounding areas. Firefighters from Nantes are alerted, and firefighters come from as far as Farmington, Me., to help manage the crisis. About 1,000 people are removed from the area because of toxic fumes and dangerous particles.

1:39 a.m.: Firefighters from Nantes receive call to respond to explosion in Lac-Mégantic.

9 a.m. (approximately): The Canadian Red Cross begins setting up a temporary shelter for evacuees at the Polyvalente Montignac — a local high school. Later in the day, a spokesperson confirms that 250 beds are available but the waiting list exceeds 500. A Facebook group is set up to track people who are missing and those who have been accounted for. As of early Sunday morning, there are more than 15,000 members active on the group, a reported 199 people missing and 158 found.

1 p.m. (approximately): A second evacuation order is issued for another 1,000 people from a community downwind from the blast site. An analysis by the Sécurité civile de l’Estrie detects dangerous levels of toxic fumes.

3:30 p.m.: The Sûreté du Québec holds its first news conference and confirms that one person is confirmed dead. Police say they expect more casualties, but won’t speculate about how many people are still missing. Reports suggested upwards of 60 people are still unaccounted for.

10 p.m.: A boil water advisory is issued to residents of Lac-Mégantic and Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche warns municipalities downstream from the blast site to closely monitor their water quality.

Fires continue to blaze throughout Saturday night and into Sunday morning.

SUNDAY, July 7

9 a.m.: Authorities announce that two more people are confirmed dead and say the death toll is expected to rise.

Noon: Authorities announce that an additional two bodies have been recovered, raising the official death toll to five. They also give the first official count of missing: 40 people are unaccounted for. The perimeter around the disaster site is reduced, allowing some people to return home.

3 p.m.: The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) posts on Twitter saying it has recovered the train’s event recorder.

5 p.m.: Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway issues a statement saying company officials haven’t been able to conduct their own investigation and pledge support to the community.

7 p.m.: Authorities hold a news conference and explain that investigators still haven’t been able to tour the full blast zone because many areas are still too hot. The Transportation Safety Board has brought in nine investigators and the coroner’s office has a special forensic identification team on site to help identify remains.

MONDAY, July 8

7 a.m.: The bodies of two of the five people confirmed dead have been taken to Montreal but identification may prove a lengthy process, says Geneviève Guilbault, a spokesperson for the Quebec coroner’s office. The number of people missing remains at about 40, says Sgt. Benoit Richard of the Sûreté du Québec.

8:30 a.m.: Government officials ask area residents to “be patient” as Environment Quebec workers try to determine whether it is safe for people evacuated from the Fatima sector to return home. “We’re doing everything we can to get them home as quickly as possible,” says the Lac-Mégantic mayor. A boil-water advisory remains in effect, as a precaution.

5 p.m.: At a press conference, the SQ announces that the official death toll has risen to 13, and that the number of missing now officially stands at 50. Coroner’s office spokesperson Geneviève Guilbeault urges families of the missing to present themselves at their makeshift office and bring personal items that could contain the missing person’s DNA, such as baseball caps, toothbrushes, razors and combs.

10:15 a.m.: Just prior to the catastrophic derailment, the train had been rolling — unattended — down a 1.2-degree grade and picking up speed, head investigator Donald Ross of the TSB says. When the runaway train reached a curve in the heart of Lac-Mégantic, he adds, it was going faster than recommended for that turn. That’s where the tanker cars tumbled off the track. “We’re examining all the brake systems,” Ross says. “But until we had a chance to do our work, were not going to comment on what was or wasn’t working.”

5 p.m.: At a press conference, the SQ announces that two more bodies have been recovered, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths to 15. Fifty people in total are still unaccounted for.

WEDNESDAY, July 10

8:30 a.m.: Many residents of the Lac-Mégantic area are back at work. “All industries will be operational as of this morning,” Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche announces at a media briefing. “Tourism is an important part in our rebuilding,” she adds. “I also want to thank all the people for their messages of support from all over the world. These messages give us the strength and courage to keep going.” The boil-water advisory remains in effect.

9:30 a.m.: The estimated number of missing is now hovering around 60, including the 15 confirmed dead, Insp. Michel Forget of the Sûreté du Québec says. Investigators won’t make names public, noting that some persons earlier considered missing have since been located. Forget warned of the emotional toll a wrong name on the list has on those working and waiting in the town.

11:30 a.m.: The Quebec government promises an immediate $60 million to help the people of Lac-Mégantic, its municipal government and its businesses deal with the emergency and begin the rebuilding process. “All of Quebec is in mourning,” Premier Pauline Marois says. Flags at the National Assembly and government buildings throughout the province will fly at half-mast for one week, beginning Thursday.

6 p.m.: The SQ announces that 20 people are confirmed dead. The coroner’s office announces that it has been able to identify a first victim, but out of respect for the person’s family, would not reveal any more details about the person’s identity. The total number of missing people is now 50, down from the 60 announced on earlier today.

3:30 p.m.: The TSB holds a press conference to update the status of the investigation into what caused the explosion. They say they are looking into several factors that could have contributed to the train running off the rails.

“This will be a complex investigation, and I want to be clear — it will take months or more,” said TSB chair Wendy Tadros.

4:30 p.m.: The SQ’s coroner’s office holds a press conference to let the public know more bodies had been recovered from the disaster site, bringing the death toll to 28. Seven more of the dead had been identified, but were not made public by the authorities.

Some areas cannot be investigated due to toxic fumes coming from the crude oil the train was carrying through Lac-Mégantic.

“It was putting our lives in danger, even though our workers have masks,” said Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Michel Forget.

4:30 p.m.: The remains of five more people have been recovered from the rubble, bringing the confirmed death toll to 33, the SQ says.

SUNDAY, July 14

Noon: SQ officers on the site observe a minute of silence in memory of the dead.

4 p.m.: Two more bodies have been pulled from the carnage, the SQ says, bringing the total number of victims to 35.

The area's boil-water alert is lifted.

Two commercial buildings are knocked down using heavy equipment because they were unsafe to enter. Blazing heat and dangerous materials in the so-called red zone have made for slow going during the search. In some areas, crews wearing protective gear and breathing apparatus are working in 15-minute shifts to avoid heat exhaustion.

MONDAY, July 15

10:15 a.m.:A class-action lawsuit announced against MMA and railway chairman Edward Burkhardt, freshly filed in the Sherbrooke courthouse, could prove one of the largest in Canadian history if Quebec Superior Court gives it the green light. Proposed class representatives are Guy Ouellet, whose wife died, and Yannick Gagné, owner of Musi-Café. Three of his employees were killed when his popular bar was completely engulfed in flames. Jeff Orenstein, of Consumer Law Group Inc. in Montreal, said there is no dollar figure on the suit yet, but he guessed it would be among the largest ever filed in Canada.

4 p.m.: The SQ announces two more bodies have been found, bringing the confirmed death toll to 37. Eleven of the victims have been identified by the coroner's office, eight of whom were named publicly. But Geneviève Guilbault, a spokesperson for the coroner's office, adds that none of the remains recovered have been released to the families, since tests are under way to confirm the cause of death.

TUESDAY, July 16

4 p.m.: The Sureté du Québec announced it has found the remains of one more person in the rubble of the Lac-Mégantic train derailment, to bring the total of confirmed dead to 38. A spokesperson for the coroner’s office announced that investigators have identified one more victim, bringing the total of identified victims to 12. The total number of presumed victims remains at 50.

WEDNESDAY, July 17

4 p.m.: A spokesperson for the Quebec coroner's office said Wednesday afternoon that the identities of five more victims of the Lac-Megantic derailment have been determined, bringing the number of identified victims to 17. Names will likely be made public Friday morning on Quebec coroner's website, said Genevieve Guilbault. No additional bodies were recovered from the rubble Wednesday, with the total number of confirmed victims remaining at 38, among the 50 presumed dead.

THURSDAY, July 18

3:30 p.m.: Mayor Roy-Laroche said that U.S. President Barack Obama expressed his condolences to the people of Lac-Mégantic through the office of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

4 p.m.: The SQ said that four more bodies have been found, bringing the official death toll to 42. The coroner's office announced that 19 victims have been identified but their identities will be made public once families have been notified.

FRIDAY, July 19

10:30 a.m.: TSB investigators offer a briefing updating their investigation. Among the major revelations are that the quality of the handbrakes engaged on the tanker cars are under investigation as well as the number applied by the engineer, said Ed Belkaloul, a TSB team member. Tests are also being conducted by the light crude oil that was spilled to look for the presence of any other substances. The TSB also flagged two immediate safety concerns to Transport Canada, which is in charge of regulating the rail industry. First, the rule for the securement of unattended locomotives and second, the securement and surveillance of unattended trains carrying dangerous goods.

4 p.m.: The number of confirmed victims in the Lac-Mégantic disaster has jumped to 47, the Sûreté du Québec announced Friday afternoon. A spokesperson for the Quebec coroner's office said three more victims have been identified, bringing that total to 22. Police now believe 47 people have been killed in the July 6 train derailment and explosion.

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